May 1: College Signing Day & Getting Set for Fall 2021

As we approach College Signing Day on May 1, the future is looking brighter for the Class of 2021. In-person, on-campus instruction is making a comeback, and the scholarships you award will provide a much-needed boost to student confidence as they prepare to take that next step directly after high school graduation.

In the lead-up to College Signing Day, your high school seniors and their families are weighing college options, looking at financial aid offers, learning how classes will be offered this fall, and assessing schools’ COVID-19 vaccination and health policies.

To see how those financial aid award offers will match college costs – or how much they will fall short -- it’s important to know what goes into the total cost of attendance. These costs can vary greatly by state and by institution, but describe the general categories financial aid will be applied to.

(Image via FSA)

Unfortunately, there is no standard template for financial aid letters, but it helps to know the terms and categories to look for:

• Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
• Total cost of attendance
• Institutional scholarships and grants (those offered by the school)
• Federal and state grants
• “Self-help,” which can mean work-study, wages or loans offered
• “Net price,” or the total you’ll be expected to pay after financial aid

U.S. News & World Report has posted a helpful sample letter to help students and families decode the offer.

Keep in mind, the initial award letter from the campus is not the final award package, as it often does not include all private or institutional scholarships and grants a student receives. Students and families should watch carefully for changes to the award offer, and take note of the school’s outside scholarship policy and process for financial aid appeals found online at the campus financial aid portal.

For more information, see the Scholarship America blog:

• Making Sense of Financial Aid Letters
• Scholarship Displacement: What Families and Scholarship Providers Should Know
• Scholarship Equity is Crucial in Post-Pandemic College

Dollars for Scholars Connect Welcomes Scholarship America Board Member Jeff Silverman 

On April 1, more than fifty volunteers joined two Dollars for Scholars Connect sessions to hear from Mr. Jeff Silverman, board member and grandson of our founder, Dr. Irving Fradkin.

Dollars for Scholars volunteers shared the challenges of the current moment – class of 2021 scholarship applications, fundraising, and board member recruitment – as well as some of the bright spots over the last year.

Mr. Silverman shared his gratitude for our work and his support of Dollars for Scholars, announcing a personal donation of $50,000 toward our $300,000 campaign goal for the Fradkin Legacy Awards. As we strive to fund these awards over the next ten years, Scholarship America board and staff have pledged over $75,000 so far. (The application to apply for the expanded 2021 Fradkin Legacy Awards opens in June.)

We’ll see you later this summer for our next DFS Connect meeting on August 26!

Award Season Resources

As your Dollars for Scholars works through awards season, feel free to put the following templates to use. These and more are available in Affiliate Resources.

• Awards News Release Template
• Matching Award Request Form Template (Collegiate Partners)
• Scholarship Award Letters for Recipients and Non-recipients and Collegiate Partners and Non-Collegiate Partners
• Scholarship Award Certificate Template

Questions? Contact your Engagement Director!